The Daughter and Prince of the Forest
by twilight.memoirs
Summary: Tauriel has grown up to become an exquisite and skilled Elleth that has recently joined the Mirkwood Guard and is quickly climbing up the ranks. Tauriel soon catches the eye of the Prince of Mirkwood who is drowned in courtships. Both start to arouse interest and desire in one another and then try to keep their forbidden relationship concealed. (Pre-Hobbit)
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Just a heads up, some (most) of the details in this story won't be accurate to where some of you Tolkien nerds will gladly point out and give me some long lecture. Also it won't one-hundred percent follow the original story line.  
Also I don't own the Hobbit, LOTR or Middle Earth in general. **_

**_Also I hate opening stories with a past scene that leads up to a present scene, just not my style, but here you go and I hope you all enjoy!_**

 **The Daughter and Prince of the Forest** _ **  
by twilight . memoirs  
**_

 **Chapter One**

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* * *

 _ **Hundreds of years ago…..**_

" _Mother, this is scary..." The young elfling cried out in a pant. The said mother frowned slightly at her daughter's gift of observation. Now it was proving to be a misfortune on her side. "I know little one, it is a bit scary, but exhilarating is it not?" The Elleth tried anything and everything to keep her daughter from panicking also trying to keep everything from going hectic and out of control. But now she feared that the worst was inevitable. Her daughter and she continued to run as fast as their legs could carry them._

" _Kind of…but where's Father and all the others? He said that he'll be with us shortly-" The mother cut off her child's question as she pulled her out of the path of an arrow aimed directly at her. In return the Elleth nocked the arrow in her own bow with lightning speed and shot the arrow back towards the sender. She took a few seconds to survey the situation and how to handle the whole ordeal._

 _Looking back she could only see the worst scenario about to unfold before her innocent child's eyes._

 _She saw a whole wave of orcs coming towards them, coming from where she left her husband and the others. Her husband and the others at least managed to put this much distance between them. But not enough. Turning around and looking down at her daughter she decided that her husband's death would not be in vain. He died fighting to keep his daughter safe, she would do the same._

" _Tauriel," She called to her daughter, taking her eyes away from the orcs charging towards them. She had her daughter look at her instead of the danger coming their way. "I want you to blow into this as hard and long as you can three times while I get rid of these filthy creatures." Tauriel's mother gave her a gentle and warm smile as she handed her a horn with a strap tied to it._

 _Tauriel barely nodded her head accepting the horn and stared at her mother with eyes filled with fear and unsurety._

" _Now, I want you to climb up this tree as high as you can." Tauriel's mother had tears in her eyes as she kneeled to her daughter's eye level while placing her hands on her shoulders. Though her brave smile never faltered. Tauriel nodded her head in understanding. "Do not come down under any circumstances whatsoever."_

" _You're coming too right!?" Tauriel saw red when she realized her mother wouldn't be joining her up in the tree tops.  
"No my sweet child, I'll be down here protecting you, but when I kill all these Orcs I'll join you shortly. Go now, make haste." She directed her child towards and up the tree. Tauriel hesitant at first started the task of climbing the towering tree. She looked down and peeked at her mother when she took note that those were the very same words her father spoke to her, and yet she hasn't seen him yet. But she continued to climb, obeying her mother's command. _

_Her little limbs lashed out in rebellion from her earlier sprint with her mother. But she urged her young little body past its breaking point. Tauriel climbed and climbed until she was finally at the top. She could see the Lonely Mountain and the sun starting to set._

 _Tauriel then remembered the horn strapped to her side. Grabbing the white horn Tauriel took a deep breath filling her lungs to full capacity before blowing with all her might into the horn. She did this three times, each one louder and more urgent. By the time the third cry from the horn came to a cease she could feel her head become light and her vision go black for a short while. Tauriel stood there wondering what would happen next._

 _Her elvish hearing enabled her to hear the sounds of what she assumed were orcs dying at her mother's hand. Tauriel's little heart beat furiously inside of her as she hesitantly started to climb down. Her hands shaking as she grabbed onto each branch and legs feeling that they'll give out at any moment. As she got the closer the sounds of battle were getting louder._

 _She knew she shouldn't disobey her mother's words, but the need to see her mother was too great. Climbing down slowly Tauriel stopped to the point where she could look down and see the battle unfold before her eyes and still be hidden by the golden leaves._

 _Tauriel spotted her mother unsheathing her daggers and start to slice through the orcs when she ran out of arrows, her bow tossed to the side. Tauriel was frozen with fear and awe as she watched her mother gracefully and lethally kill each and every orc that come close to her. She has never seen her mother in this state. Her mother stood out amongst the black and filthy creatures with her light colored clothing and golden hair._

 _Tauriel knew her mother had the ability to handle a bow and blade, but she never knew her mother had the skills of an aged warrior. Her mother moved with ease and grace as she progressed between the orcs, each one falling to the ground as she passed them._

 _Tauriel quickly noticed that a fresh new wave of orcs were quickly approaching, fifteen more at least. Tauriel then remembered her father and the others that were left behind where the orcs were now streaming from._

 _Her heart jumped into her throat and her eyes watered when she heard a cry escaping her mother's mouth. Flicking her head back to her right side she noticed an arrow sticking out from her mother's shoulder. Her jaw dropped and tears spilled over her cheeks when another arrow pierced her mother's shoulder._

 _Tauriel felt numb when she spotted thin trails of blood start to trek down her mother's arm and onto her daggers. But the look in her mother's eyes didn't bare pain or anguish they instead were filled with fury. Pulling the two arrows out of her shoulder Tauriel's mother grabbed her bow and shot them at the first orcs coming her way._

 _Tauriel could feel the time stop when her mother's gaze flickered towards onto her hiding in the trees._

 _Tauriel's teary eyes stared into her mother's warm earthy green eyes, embracing the merry feelings that emitted from those eyes. Those very same eyes that have scolded her, taught her, soothed her and praised her. Every fiber of her being wanted to run into her mother's safe and warm embrace._

 _Her mother gave her one last gentle and brave smile before charging towards the oncoming orcs. Tauriel couldn't bare to watch anymore, she couldn't. She was young and still naïve in various areas, but she wasn't foreign to the knowledge of death. Tauriel turned away and ducked, hiding her face into her knees as she crouched on top of the trees thick branch. Her young little heart felt physically pained by an unknown emotion to her, her head throbbing with each beat of her heart. She could still hear the cry of orcs, but thankfully none from her mother._

 _Then everything was silent._

 _Tauriel waited a few seconds before picking her head up. Hair sticking to her wet teared stained cheeks. Turning around Tauriel surveyed the area. Nothing made a single sound, nothing breathed or lived._

 _Tauriel's eyes desperately searching amongst the bodies for her mother. Quickly climbing down the tree Tauriel moved as fast as she could to reunite with her mother. Tauriel ran towards where she last saw her mother run before she hid herself away._

 _Finally Tauriel's eyes landed on a white figure laying on the ground amongst the dark themed ground. The little Elleth's legs moved on their own accord, for her eyes stayed trained onto her mother's lifeless form on the ground._

 _But as she came close to her mother, a hand snaked out and latched itself onto her ankle, its nails biting through her leggings and into her ankle._

" _You little bitch…" The bloody creature gurgled out as he pulled onto Tauriel's leg. Tauriel gave out a yelp as his tug made her fall onto the ground. The Orc tried dragging Tauriel towards itself and gave out a screech and baring its razor sharp teeth, indicating to bite the little elf. Tauriel couldn't find her voice and kicked at the creature. The Orc opened its mouth wide and Tauriel readied herself to join the same fate as her mother._

 _Instead a pained screech violated her ears. Opening her eyes she saw the tip of an arrow coming out from in between the Orc's eyes._

 _Looking up she saw an army of elves racing towards them with their bows nocked and ready to shoot. For a second she thought they were going to shoot her, but she then noticed it was her kin._

 _Hey eyes darted towards a figure that rode on top of a tremendous elk that emerged from the trees. He wore a crown upon his head and had a blade at his side. For a split second little Tauriel felt drawn towards the figure as though he would protect her from all dangerous things._

 _But Tauriel instantly remembered her mother hastily crawled towards her figure and thrown herself on top of her mother. As if protecting her from the other elves. Little Tauriel clutched to her mother and dug her face into the crook of her neck, embracing the small things that her mother's lifeless body offered._

 _Her mother's soothing scent, the softness of her wavy golden hair and silkiness of her skin. But she noticed the lack of warmth her mother's skin usually radiated. Not temperature warmth that one could feel but one could see._

" _Ier lle naikelea ai er?" (Are you hurt little one?)_

 _Tauriel peeked up and saw the tall regal figure from before standing in front of her, but no blade in hand. Making him less intimidating. Tauriel slowly shook her head no, but stopped before slowly nodding. She did indeed feel hurt, her ankle hurt from the orc grabbing it, her back hurt from falling earlier, her hands were numb and calloused from climbing the tree earlier. But the inside of her chest hurt the most out of all. It was a feeling she could hardly describe, but it definitely hurt the most compared to the others. Identifying and recognizing the pain Tauriel snuggled her head back into the crook of her mother's neck._

 _The tall elf in front of her kneeled to her level and placed a soothing hand on her shuddering shoulders as she sobbed loudly into the forest air._

 _After some time has passed the king picked up the elfling who fell asleep atop her mother's body. He held the broken child close to him as he rode on his elk back to his kingdom. The king also ordered for his soldiers to gather the little elfling's mother's daggers and boy for the child out of respect._

* * *

 _ **Present**_

"Does it hurt to remember the scene of your mothers passing?"

Tauriel sitting on her legs broke her stare from the same tree that so many hundreds of years ago she climbed to hide from the orcs as her mother fought in battle. Turning her head she gave her friend and colleague a smile. "Not as much as it has so many years ago. I think back to it now and can only admire my mother's courage, and her heart to have done what she did. And of course her ability to wield the dagger."

Santiel gave Tauriel a smile in return. "If I was ever able to see your mother in the midst of battle I'm sure you are as good as your mother with a blade that you claim for her to be. Your skills with the blade surely mustn't go to waste. And you bow work is good, but not as good as your skill with a blade yet."

Tauriel rolled her eyes and knew where this conversation was heading, "How many times must we go over this? I've already dedicated my time and effort to becoming a healer, I'm not letting all these years I've trained to become one go to waste."

Tauriel stood and grabbed her basket filled with freshly picked herbs and started the small trek back to the kingdom. It would be supper time soon and she and Santiel have been out in the forest since morning collecting various herbs and plants since they were beginning to run low in supplies in the Halls of Healing.

Santiel grabbed hers as well and quickly followed behind Tauriel in haste. Santiel wearing a dress versus Tauriel wearing leggings and a tunic instead of a dress definitely gave Tauriel the advantage of maneuvering through the forest with ease.

"I'm not saying you should ignore your duty to becoming a healer, but what I am saying –and Sif fully agrees with me- that you should participate in the tryouts for the Woodland Guard this year. Sif being Second Lieutenant in the fourth or third guard unit…. or whatever she is in, could even put in a good word for you."

"It seems that you and Sif are continually trying to make me part of the Woodland Guard and direct me away from my desire of becoming a healer, am I that bad of a healer?" Tauriel asked her friend in sarcasm. Santiel then started griping about how Tauriel was also an amazing healer and that it wasn't fair for Tauriel to be good in so many areas.

But Tauriel drowned out her friends rant when her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of what seemed to be deranged cackling and high pitched screeches off in the distance.

Instinctively Tauriel placed one hand on her dagger for reassurance as her and Santiel drew closer to the strange sounds that only Tauriel could seem to hear.

"Sshhh." Tauriel stopped both her and Santiel in middle of the path way when Tauriel noticed that the sounds grew louder then all of a sudden stopped.

Santiel closed her mouth and stared at Tauriel waiting for a reaction noting Tauriel's sudden odd behavior. She knew something was about to happen. Both she and Tauriel could feel it.

"Must've been my imagination." Tauriel's body visibly relaxed taking her hand away from her daggers.  
"Did you hear something- Dear Valar!" Santiel screeched the last part as she backed away suddenly with large eyes. Tauriel whirled around with her daggers drawn in each hand and was faced with the largest spider she has ever seen in her life.

She then recalled hearing about the guard seeing large spiders, but she didn't think they'd be this large and dangerous. By the looks of the spider it was easily larger than herself and Santiel.

"Eru Tauriel, I hope what I brag about your skills with the blade are true." Santiel drew away from Tauriel seeing that danger was heading her way.

The large arachnid hissed before charging towards Tauriel, two more suddenly appearing behind it as it charged. Tauriel remained calm and kept her mind clear of any fear. Side stepping the spider's sharp legs aimed at her. She stabbed its head before going into a series of ducks and twirls avoiding the other spider's sharp fangs that were dripping with venom.

"Tauriel above you!" Tauriel quickly peeked up after killing the second spider and noticed a herd of spiders in the treetops coming their way. Ten more at least.

"Santiel run!" But before Santiel even had the chance to run away from the danger a spider landed right in front of her resulting in scream.

Tauriel cursed under her breath, regretting leaving her bow back in her room seeing how it could come in handy at this moment. Tauriel flipped the dagger and held it by the blade before throwing it towards the spider in front of Santiel. Seeing her dagger hit its mark Tauriel quickly turned and stabbed the third spider behind herself in the neck.

Right as a spider was in midair leaping towards Tauriel, an arrow flew through its head and hit the other spider next to it, killing both spiders in it's path.

Looking into the treetops from where the arrow was shot Tauriel was able to identify the sender. She quickly realized that it was the Prince of the Woodland Realm and a whole unit of guards behind him. Relief instantly filled Tauriel as she watched the prince and his guard dispose of the spiders.

She has never seen the Prince or the guard in combat before but have heard many stories of the Princes fighting abilities. As she watched the Princes fighting style and abilities with both bow and knives she decided that they were by far exceeding the stories and descriptions she heard from others.

He moved with such fluidity and grace that she was transfixed on him and continued to watch in aspiration.

Santiel ran directly behind Tauriel feeling safe being near her friend who could protect her from danger. Tauriel still stood aware of her surroundings in case if a spider passed the Prince or one of his guards and came after her or Santiel. "See? You'd definitely fit in with these people." Tauriel only continued to watch and feel a small tinge of envy.

Tauriel then comprehended something. She was envious of the guards and how they fought. She wanted to be with them fighting to protect. Once seeing all the spiders disposed of Tauriel picked up her basket of herbs and plants before heading over towards the spider she threw her dagger towards to retrieve said weapon.

"Are you or your companion hurt my lady?" Tauriel turned at the sound of the Prince's voice, she gave a small bow before replying. "No my Lord, luckily enough I had my blades with me." Tauriel could feel her heart beat a little faster at the sudden presence of the Prince.

The Prince nodded, "My unit and I have been searching for this group of spiders and it seems we chased them directly towards you and your friend, my apologies."

"You and your company had no knowledge of my friend and I being in the way of your task, no one is at fault here." Tauriel looked up into the Princes eyes and took in every detail that she could. She has of course seen and heard the prince before, but never up this close.

The Prince nodded with a smile, "My company and I will accompany you and your friend back to the kingdom, as you have experienced it is unsafe for you two out here, even though it seems you're capable of handling yourself." Tauriel smiled at his compliment and nodded. Once again starting the trek back to the castle, this time with the Prince of the Woodland Realm beside her.

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 _ **A/N: I'll just leave this here and hope to hear about your opinions through the reviews.**_

 _ **Since this is the first chapter I didn't really use any first person, but a mixture of second and third person. Next chapter I'm aiming to use first person through Tauriel and give some more information.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Hello everyone, I deeply appreciate all the wonderful reviews you left, and I hope that you all enjoy this chapter.**_

 _ **. .**_

 _ **. .**_

 **The Daughter and Prince of the Forest** _ **  
by twilight . memoirs**_

 **Chapter Two**

* * *

 **Legolas~**

As we made our way back to the kingdom I couldn't help but let my eyes wander towards the Elleth at my side. Her strides were long and graceful to keep up with the unit and myself, her friend close on her heels, though not as graceful due to the length of her dress.

I kept replaying the memory of her fending off the spiders, protecting herself and her friend from the foul creatures. I remember how her movements were sharp yet elegant, her aim never trailing away from missing her mark. It made me ponder as to why she wasn't part of the guard. With her skills, she could certainly climb the ranks and become an amazing warrior and valuable asset to the Mirkwood Guard. It still baffled me that a mere healer such as herself had this skill-set with a blade. This left myself wondering if she had any other skills that she concealed, perhaps she was as good with a bow as with her blade?

As a small gust of wind passed us her scent drifted towards me and caressed my nose. Her scent left me relaxed and at ease. She smelled of an apple orchard during the harvest season, with a hint of cinnamon. I quickly stole a glance of her over my shoulder as we rounded a corner. Her long deep auburn red hair illuminated in the sunlight, it curled into ringlets near her behind. I'll admit my eyes stayed in place a little while longer than they should have.

The shape of her legs were clearly visible and defined by her leather leggings. A rare sight for an Elleth, who usually dawn dresses. Her skin showed the suns kiss, a peach bisque color, also a sprinkle of freckles that dashed over the bridge of her nose.

Sensing my eyes cast upon her she quickly peeked up at me then immediately cast her eyes downwards towards her boots. Her eyes reminded me of the emeralds stashed in the castle treasury. Her mouth was full and perfectly shaped, the color of pale pink. Her lips suddenly curved into a small smile when she looked up at me with a faint blush to her cheeks.

I suddenly realized I never asked for this mysterious Elleth's name. I bit my tongue from doing so. It should be no immediate concern of mine. I let my mind wander too much.

 **Tauriel~**

I couldn't help but imagine myself as one of the guards as we walked back to the kingdom. We were all in a perfect order, Santiel though was close behind me trying to keep up without stumbling. Prince Legolas was at my right side while the other guards followed quickly and obediently behind their Prince. The basket of herbs and plants on my side reminded me of my duties and to get these back to the healing halls as quickly as possible.

I peeked over my shoulder and looked at the Prince, greedily drinking in his features. Never have I been so close to him. Only on rare occasions have I seen him in the healing halls twice. But those moments were quick and rushed. Either someone was screaming in pain, or someone was dying, neither situations were appropriate for me to look and ogle at the Prince.

I eyed his build and suddenly had a secret appreciation for how he's not slim like most other elves in the healing halls. The prince actually had an ample amount of muscle to his body. His hair was pale as was well as his skin. His eyes though were as blue as the sky on a clear summer day. Something I wanted to stare into and study. He was taller than me, though most people were, my head meeting his nose in comparison.

As we approached the gate I noticed a couple of young boys walking into the forest past us, I then remembered the main reason I was in the forest. There were a group of young elflings waiting for me in the healing halls. They were young boys wrestling for good sport, but they were dueling and rolling around in a poisonous weed. That resulted in them receiving an itchy red rash and achiness in their bones. I remembered them walking in early this morning with sheepish looks on their faces as they continued to itch and rub themselves raw.

The memory of their sheepish looks made me smile to myself and look down at my boots.

"May I ask what the lady finds so amusing?" Prince Legolas asked from beside me. His voice brought me back to the present and away from the remembrance of the elflings who are most likely impatiently waiting for me.

Smiling back down at my boots I replied, "The reason why my friend and I were out in the woods is because we were collecting herbs for medicine since we were running low. And it reminded me of these boys waiting for me because they accidentally were wrestling in Stinging Spurge."

Prince Legolas let out a throaty chuckle. A sound that I immediately took a liking too. "Well, they should be relieved of their misery soon since we're close to the gates."

Looking ahead the large gate doors came into view as we neared our home. I felt a little saddened as I realized that my duties called to me and take me away from this small moment of happiness. I was able to fight and protect my friend and that was something that filled me with adrenaline and made me feel somewhat complete.

"This is where we shall part ways my lady." Legolas gave me a curt nod with a small smile before he and his unit walked away, leaving me alone with Santiel. Leaving me disappointed that I never had the chance to properly thank him.

"This was certainly a highlight of my day," Santiel commented to me as I stared at the Prince and his unit leaving. Letting out a sigh I started making my way towards the healing halls with the basket of herbs at my side.  
"Tauriel, I'm going to say it again. I think you need to reconsider the thought of trying out for the Woodland Army."

This time I actually agreed with Santiel. "I will." My response was short and quiet, but it elicited quite a reaction from Santiel. Her eyes went wide and her mouth curving into a grin. "Really?! You're not joking are you? You'll actually become part of the army-"

"I didn't say I was going to join, I said I'd think about the tryouts, besides I still have to get through the tryouts to even be considered for the army." I walked faster, not even believing my own words, I already had a feeling I would most likely try out for the army anyway without her persuasion.

"Oh Tauriel, I already know you're going to be chosen and given a good ranking." I gave her a smile of appreciation of her confidence in me. It was good to know that she believed in me and thinking I could easily pass the tryouts.

"There you two are! I thought I'd have to send out a search party to find your asses." The head healer, as well as my past mother figure, said with disdain.  
"We're sorry. We kind of ran into trouble along the way, err actually it kind of ran into us." Santiel tried explaining to the grumpy head healer.

She sighed in annoyance, "And what could possibly hold you two up for the past three hours? I simply sent you two out for tree sap." This time I tried defending ourselves.

"We decided it best to also get other herbs since were running low as it is. And there was a pretty big spider problem when we were about to come back."

Raina, the head healer then tsked. "I thought I told the both of you to stay East of the forest," Santiel and I then looked anywhere but Raina's shrewd eyes, knowing that this is where we were at fault. She sighed before walking towards us. "I'm grateful that you two are safe and have brought back a mighty good amount of herbs. I'm just tired of listening to these little boys whine much longer." Raina took the basket out of my hands, taking out the tree sap and handing it to me.

"Go and make some salve for those elflings. They sound as though they have dragon fire raining on them." Raina walked away as Santiel and I both headed towards the medicine room to start the task of making the salve for the boys moaning in their cots.

* * *

It was near supper time by the time Santiel and I both left the healing halls. The group of elflings were sent back to their mothers with the salve that took us all day to prepare.

"I swear I could eat a while chicken pot-pie." Santiel proclaimed as we made our way to the baker to pick up dinner since neither of us felt like cooking.

"I couldn't agree with you more."

Both Santiel and I turned around to greet our friend Sif. "In that case, we'll get three pot-pies to go then." I smiled at my friend who I haven't seen in a couple of days. Sif walked in between Santiel and I and laced her arms through both of ours. "Sounds like a plan."

"A hot bath and a whole day of sleep sounds just as good too," Santiel complained as all three of us walked towards the bakery.

"Oh! Guess what!" Both Sif and I turned our attention to the bubbly brunette. I had an inkling of what Santiel was about to tell Sif, or the whole realm in that matter with the pitch of her voice.

"Tauriel finally decided to participate in the Woodland Army tryouts!"

Sif turned her head to me with her wide blue eyes filled with shock. "And what in Eru's name made you come to this decision?"

I gave Santiel a pointed glare. She just gave me a cheeky grin in return, the tips of her ears turning slightly red. "It's kind of a long story, but I never said I would. And before Santiel decides to run her mouth again. I said I would consider doing tryouts for the Woodland Army."

Santiel jutted her tongue out at me and Sif nodded taking in the information.

" Actually no, you're not going to try out for the Woodland army. No way am I going to have you try out for them." Santiel stopped dead in her tracks. "What the hell-" Before Santiel could finish, Sif cut in.

"The Woodland Forces are a complete mess right now, these recent recruits don't even know the difference between a long and a short bow,"

"What is the difference between a-" Thankfully before Santiel could finish her sentence again.

"The point is, is that the Woodland Army is the laughing stock of our military at the moment." Sif groaned as we entered the bakery. The smell of freshly baked bread and pastries hit my noes, momentarily making me forget about our conversation and my hunger hit me again with full force.

"Three chicken pot-pies please?" I asked the baker as she gave me a smile and a nod, acknowledging my order as we headed to take a seat on the patio.

"Well then what do you suppose Tauriel should do? She's basically wasting away in the healing halls." Santiel said, a slight jab to my ego. "You make it sound as though I'm poisoning and killing off my patients,"I gave Santiel a pointed glare I before crossing my arms.

"Hey, all I'm saying is that you shouldn't let your combat skills go to waste! I mean you're a good healer- an amazing healer. But I -and I definitely think Sif would agree- that you have another calling, a calling to combat." Sif gave me a smile and nodded in agreement with Santiel.

I just sat back and bit the inside of my lip. I didn't disagree with either Santiel or Sif, but I also still felt as though healing had a calling to me. I've worked this hard to get to where I am. Why stop now? Why just drop everything and start rock bottom again in something I'm not even sure I want to pursue.

I thought back to my mother. I wondered what she would say and what consoling words of wisdom she would offer me in this conflict. I didn't know her or my father long enough to know what they would advise. But the vivid memory of my mother dying in combat to protect me did give me a sense of which path seemed more apparent.

"Well since the Woodland Army is made up of a bunch of buffoons. What do you propose I should do?" I asked Sif, putting the pressure of this conflict onto her. She though already had a conclusion since it didn't take her a minute to think about it.

"In a couple of weeks, there will be a tryout for the Woodland Guard. Not many know about it since you have to be referred or recommended by someone already in the Woodland Guard or by someone with a high enough rank."

Santiel turned to me with an excited smile already painted on her face. "See Tauriel! It all works out perfectly! In a week, we'll have our healer exams and then you could focus on the Woodland Guard tryouts!"

When Santiel put it that way it sounded simple and easy. But to me, it sounded like two weeks of hell. One week will be spent worrying and constantly studying for my healer exams. Then the next week would consist of gruesome training that would no doubt leave me dead tired and sore.

"I'm more than happy to give you my recommendation Tauriel. But if I do give you my recommendation, I need to know that you will give this opportunity your everything. The Woodland Guard is no joke, it's the most competitive branch we have here in the realm. Only ten out of almost a hundred make it into the guard." Sif turned to me, with all joking aside and seriousness painted across her face.

I sat there and thought about it, taking in all the information just placed in front of me. I knew that if I did decide to do the tryouts, I would no doubt give it my everything, but the problem was if I could bring myself to do it. It was the repetitive fact that I've worked this far to become a healer, why stop now?

 _Because you want to live up to your mother's legacy and her memory._

That simple statement made me make my choice then and there.

"I'll do it." Santiel gasped and clapped her hands. Sif gave me a toothy grin of victory. And to increase the jolly excitement of my decision our pot-pies were brought out to us steaming hot and ready to be eaten.

But my hunger was no comparison to the feeling of excitement I felt. I knew that this was going to be a hard path, another hard road of sleepless nights and determination being my only source of fuel. But anyone who knew me knew that I always loved a challenge.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this short chapter and my two characters Santiel and Sif. Those two are going to be Tauriel's storm and her rock.**_


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